1. I think Kolya is very self-confident and proud of himself. He can't stand being humilated even a bit, and wants to risk even being in a dangerous situation to prove himself among the schoolboys. The special part about his character is that he gets worked up much more in proving he can be very mischievous even though he is young and intelligent. His self-respect is so strong and he wants others to treat him not from his age and treat him like a child, and he often gets carried away, acting rashly and emotionally.

2. I think meeting someone that they are fond of, or might make a big influence on themselves, is like acting. In those situation, people try hard to give a good impression of themselves to that person, and hide the negative parts of oneself. We sometimes have to tell a white lie, or be careful at anything that we tell that person.

Q1. The fact that he made him self well known in the town because of his mischeif may be that he is actually irrational, and he doesn't want anybody to know.

Q2. I think that feigning emotions is like acting. Sometimes people have to do something that isn't his or herself. They have to smile when angry, grimace when happy.